LOS ANGELES – After throwing for 351 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s season-opening victory over Virginia, Josh Rosen waded into new territory.

The true freshman quarterback received a considerable bit of national acclaim. He was named the Walter Camp national offensive player of the week and the Pac-12 offensive player of the week. Fox Sports put him atop its list of Heisman Trophy candidates.

Meanwhile, UCLA coach Jim Mora is making no secret of hoping to tone down the increased attention.

“We don’t even address that stuff,” Mora said.

The Bruins’ hope for Rosen, though 18 years old, is that he is already accustomed to the hoopla.

“Josh has garnered a lot of attention for the last several years, playing at St. John Bosco, which is a very prominent program, being a highly ranked player,” Mora said. “He’s been under the microscope, certainly not to this extent, but at least he’s had a taste of it.”

His receivers point to a quarterback who is young, but well-adjusted and was especially collected before each snap.

On the sideline of the Rose Bowl, sophomore Eldridge Massington listened to Rosen insist the game was, “slower than I thought.”

“I was like, ‘OK,’ ” Massington said, recalling their exchange.

Senior Jordan Payton also noted how relaxed Rosen seemed, providing his own theory about his demeanor.

Perhaps that’s only part of the equation, said Payton, who recalls the quarterback poring over his playbook in the late-night hours during training camp in San Bernardino.

“I walked by and I would see the light on still,” Payton said. “I would knock and go, ‘Yo, you OK?’ And he was in his book, studying at night, just getting ready.”

Mora pointed out that this relaxed nature is in character.

“I’ve always been impressed with his maturity, and his presence, and his sense of calm,” he said. “I didn’t see anything different on Saturday. I kind of looked for signs that he was nervous or uptight. I’m sure that he was. It would be natural for him to be. But outwardly, he didn’t really show any signs of that.”

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